Women, feminism, and geek culture

No one expects the linkspam inquisition! (16 November, 2012)

Geek Masculinity and the Myth of the Fake Geek Girl: “For decades, we’ve prided ourselves on being forward-thinkers, early adopters, willing to challenge cultural norms and think and work outside the boxes imposed on us. Imagine how far we could go if we could then stop replacing them with boxes of our own design.”

Code review for the new PyLadies in your life: “Here’s the very best thing you can say when a PyLady shares her code with you: ’Thanks for sharing this!’ And then, after you’ve had a look: ’I’ve had a look and you’re doing a great job. Tell me about what you’ve written.’ Seriously. That’s about it.”

The Mojo Wire: “Glasses on Chicks”: Two friends discuss the “fake geek girl” and geeky gatekeeping issue on Facebook; includes a great link roundup for the larger discussion.

Google looking for an algorithm for keeping women: “Glad to hear that Google is aware that they’re losing women, and that they’re trying to study themselves to figure out where. I hope that they’ll be successful. A big part of the problem is what they’re not doing and not seeing.”

Who are you calling ?sister?? – Salon.com: “More than 30,000 women are currently members of Webgrrls, and many more have passed through the community over the years. Webgrrls’ impact on the wired female population has been profound. But Webgrrls is no longer the only game in town, and these days numerous women’s communities are pursuing similar pro-women, pro-technology agendas.”

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